Provider profile
CAT 3 Recovery LLC
Provider snapshot
What this listing says
Southwest Florida homeowners dealing with water damage or mold after hurricanes and flooding, especially in LaBelle, Cape Coral, and Lehigh Acres where CAT 3 Recovery is owner-operated by Nino and Gavin.
Best for
- LaBelle, Cape Coral, and Lehigh Acres homeowners who need water damage cleanup with same-day or next-day response
- Property owners who want one company to handle everything from emergency extraction through drywall reconstruction
- Commercial property managers dealing with overnight water damage from ice machines, sprinkler failures, or HVAC leaks
- Homeowners navigating insurance claims who need Xactimate-formatted documentation and adjuster coordination
- Realtors and insurance agents who need a reliable vendor for clients with mold or water damage situations
About this company
CAT 3 Recovery of SWFL is a locally owned restoration company based in LaBelle, Florida, run by owners Nino and Gavin. They hold Florida mold remediator license #MRSR3184 and cover a wide swath of Southwest Florida from Cape Coral to Naples to Punta Gorda. Their primary identity is water damage restoration, but they handle the full disaster spectrum: mold, fire, storm, sewage, and biohazard cleanup. They serve both residential and commercial properties and advertise 24/7 emergency response with arrival times of one to two hours.
What stands out is the breadth of their service menu. Beyond standard water and mold work, they handle biohazard situations including crime scene cleanup, hoarding, meth lab decontamination, and infectious disease cleanup. Their mold process follows IICRC S520 standards and includes containment, negative air with HEPA filtration, antimicrobial treatment, and clearance testing by an independent environmental hygienist for larger jobs. They also do reconstruction — drywall, painting, flooring — so they can take a job from emergency response through final repairs. They use thermal imaging for moisture detection, LGR dehumidifiers, and Xactimate-formatted documentation for insurance claims.
The company is locally owned and appears to be a small operation where the owners work jobs directly. Gavin shows up repeatedly in reviews doing hands-on remediation, duct cleaning, and estimates. The website claims over two decades of restoration experience and over 25 years of mold expertise, though the company's exact founding date is not stated. They work directly with insurance carriers and position themselves as a preferred vendor with several Florida insurers.
With 77 Google reviews and a 4.8-star rating, CAT 3 Recovery sits in strong territory. Nearly every review is 5 stars, and only one recent negative exists in the last 18 months. For a small, owner-operated company in a rural-adjacent market like LaBelle, that volume and consistency is notable.
Services
Service area
Headquartered in LaBelle, Florida. Serves Southwest Florida including Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Lehigh Acres, Bonita Springs, Naples, Estero, Marco Island, Sanibel Island, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Immokalee, Alva, Clewiston, and Sarasota. The contact page claims coverage across the entire state of Florida with equipment and teams dispatched statewide, though the company's physical presence and review base are concentrated in Lee and Hendry counties.
Review consensus
Gavin is the most frequently named person in reviews, praised for showing up on time, doing the physical work himself, staying in constant contact during jobs, and providing fair estimates. Multiple reviewers — including a Local Guide realtor (Damon Vetere), an insurance agent (Tina DLR), and a Local Guide with 332 reviews (James Casey) — describe fast response times, often same-day or within 30 minutes. Reviewers consistently highlight that the crew treats homes with respect, cleans up thoroughly after themselves, and explains the process step by step. Air duct cleaning, mold remediation, and water damage extraction are the most commonly reviewed services. Several reviewers mention competitive pricing and that CAT 3 was the most affordable among multiple estimates.
1 found across 77 total reviews at 4.8★. One reviewer (Nick Hughes, June 2025) describes scheduling an appointment twice with Nino and being stood up both times, then having texts ignored. The reviewer updated the review to double down after seeing the owner's response, stating they have the right person. The owner did not respond to this review on Google. This is a single complaint from a reviewer with 5 total reviews — an isolated incident rather than a pattern, but the no-show and lack of follow-up communication is a concrete concern.
This is a small owner-operator company where the owners (Gavin and Nino) do much of the work personally. That model produces very high satisfaction when they show up — reviewers repeatedly praise the hands-on, owner-direct experience. The one failure point (the Nino no-show) is also a predictable risk of that model: when a small team gets pulled to emergencies, scheduled appointments can slip. The owner did not respond to the negative review, which is notable given the 0% response rate on negatives — there is no public record of the company addressing the complaint.
Gavin (owner — overwhelmingly positive; named in 10+ reviews for hands-on work, fair pricing, fast response, and duct cleaning). Nino (owner/employee — mixed; praised by Kayle Pitcher in Dec 2023 as prompt and knowledgeable, but named in the sole 1-star review for missing two appointments and ignoring texts).
Ask for Gavin if scheduling allows — he has the strongest track record in reviews. Confirm your appointment in writing the day before, especially if you are meeting Nino, since the one negative review describes a no-show pattern. For the vast majority of customers, this company delivers fast, affordable, owner-direct service that larger restoration franchises do not match in this market.
Keep in mind
- They do both mold testing and mold remediation. Their own mold testing page acknowledges that Florida standards recommend separating testing from remediation to avoid conflicts of interest. Ask whether they will use an independent assessor for your job.
- Their service area claims are broad — LaBelle to Sarasota to Marco Island to Port Charlotte. If you are on the edges of that range, confirm response time before assuming the 1-2 hour arrival window applies to you.
- The website has inconsistencies across location pages — some text references Immokalee or Lehigh Acres on the LaBelle page, and the mold page references 'Port Charlotte Mold Removal' as a company name. This suggests templated content rather than page-specific writing.
- One recent reviewer reported being stood up twice for a scheduled appointment with Nino. With a small team, scheduling reliability may vary depending on emergency call volume.